


A Red Carnation

by Clearnoise



Category: Rooster Teeth/Achievement Hunter/Funhaus RPF
Genre: Alternate Universe - Flower Shop, Fake AH Crew, Maybe - Freeform, Multi, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-08-22
Updated: 2017-09-06
Packaged: 2018-12-18 20:28:44
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,216
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11882208
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Clearnoise/pseuds/Clearnoise
Summary: Matt owns a successful flower shop in downtown Los Santos, lives with his best friend and longtime crush Jeremy, and has a generally pretty good life. When he meets one of Jeremy's "co-workers" early one morning, his life becomes a whirlwind that he never expected.





	1. A Budding Friendship

**Author's Note:**

> I started writing this a million years ago for my dear friend Ro, and I hope he enjoys it!

The sound of glass shattering and an unfamiliar deep laugh startled Matt from his sleep at, to him at least, far too early on a Saturday morning. He dragged himself out of bed and tugged on a binder, grumbling to himself inaudibly. Didn’t Jeremy understand that owning a flower shop was stressful? Weekends were the only time that Matt got to sleep in and there he was, awake at seven in the morning, because his stupid roommate (and long-time crush) couldn’t be quiet.  
  
“Jeremy, what the fuck man, I know you have weird ass hours but I swear to god…” What the fuck. Who was the random hot guy hanging out in their kitchen? Matt stopped in the middle of his sentence as he took in the unexpected scene. Jeremy was on his knees wiping up some kind of mess of glass and goo on the kitchen floor, and Unexpected Hot Guy was very obviously checking him out. Not that Matt blamed him, but he couldn’t help the spike of possessive jealousy that ran through him. He closed his eyes for a moment, taking a deep breath, suddenly aware that he was standing in the entryway to his kitchen at 7:00 in the morning, in only a binder and a pair of boxers. With a stranger (did he mention the guy was hot?) who had turned his attention from staring at Jeremy’s ass to staring at Matt. Jeremy stood and turned to face him, smile still on his face , still laughing.  
  
Matt missed the first part of whatever Jeremy said to him, as he was struck dumb by his best friend, standing in a tank top and shorts, exhilarated smile on his face and silhouetted by the early morning light streaming in through the kitchen window. “...... So I invited him over for breakfast before we go back to work. Our place is closer to work than Ryan’s is. I hope that’s okay. I made you some too! I was going to leave it in the fridge for whenever you wake up!” Jeremy laughed sheepishly, gesturing to the floor “Oh and we’re going to need some more jam…”  
  
Matt jolted “That wasn’t my peach jam, was it? Come on, I made that!!”  
  
Jeremy and hot guy- Ryan- both started laughing. Matt lost more of the conversation as he listened to Ryan’s laugh. It was deep, but somehow also squeaky and Matt was just so gay. “.......never had peach jam and yours is so good! Matt, he grew up in Georgia and he’d never had peach jam!”  
  
Ryan reached over and smacked at Jeremy’s chest “Oh come on, I’m sure that there are things that you haven’t tried!”  
  
Matt rolled his eyes and cut both of them off before they could continue an argument that had obviously been going on for a while as he hopped up onto the counter, picking up one of the three plates of waffles and beginning to eat, speaking between mouthfuls. “I have to go open the shop at 1, so I’m going to go back to sleep for a bit after this. Ashley and Mica both called and asked for the day off, so I have a shit ton of work to get done. I have two huge wedding deliveries tomorrow that I need to get done at some point today, while also handling the register and any new orders.” He stretched his arms above his head for a long moment, yawning and asking, “Oh yeah, Jer? Are you going to be home tonight? It is your turn to make dinner tonight, but if you’re not gonna make it back I need to figure out what I’m going to eat.”  
  
The two of them had put a system in place pretty quickly after Jeremy moved in with Matt. He had been appalled by the food that Matt had been eating, and insisted that they ate together every night that they could, so that he could make sure that his friend was eating actual foods rather than the packaged crap that he had a tendency of eating instead. After over a year of this, Matt usually made himself actual food, even if Jeremy wasn’t going to be home. He had a tendency to occasionally text and ask if Matt had eaten, and the thought of disappointing his closest friend had been enough to get Matt to fix most of his worst eating habits.  
  
Matt was so lost in his thoughts that he didn’t notice Jeremy eyeing the way the his binder rose just the smallest amount while he stretched, or Ryan smirking at him as he caught himself and turned away, or the way Jeremy’s face turned pink at having been caught looking. Ryan chuckled under his breath and Matt turned to him curiously. Matt shrugged and slid his plate toward the sink as Jeremy responded, “I’ll probably be home tonight, but tomorrow I definitely won’t. The big project deadline is tomorrow night, so we’re all staying late. We’ll probably sleep over at Geoff’s, like usual.”  
  
Hopping off the counter and walking back towards his room, Matt yelled over his shoulder “Well good luck on the project! I might as well get going, since I’m already awake. I can check over the orders getting picked up today and start on inventory. See you tonight!”


	2. Bloom Baby, Bloom

_There is a language, little known,_  
Lovers claim it as their own.  
Its symbols smile upon the land,  
Wrought by nature’s wondrous hand;  
And in their silent beauty speak,  
Of life and joy, to those who seek  
For Love Divine and sunny hours  
In the language of the flowers.  
–The Language of Flowers, London, 1875 

Later that day, Matt regretted giving both of his employees the day off. He spent the extra time in the morning doing the work required to run a flower shop. He got started on weekly inventory and his order sheets, smiling as he ran his fingers over the petals of some of his favorite flowers. He loved the way that they felt like velvet under his fingertips. Once he had a better idea of what he had and how much of each plant he had (which took longer than he had thought it would, like usual), he got started on the biggest of the orders he had stacked up. The smaller ones were scheduled to be picked up that afternoon, but they would be very quick, and much less fun to create. The big orders could sometimes be tedious, if the customer wanted multiples of the same thing; however, Matt had gotten lucky in that this particular customer wanted a variety of bouquets in as many colors as possible for their wedding. He played some music from his portable speakers, losing himself in his work until it was time to open up the shop to the public.

Unfortunately for Matt, the calm early morning had given him a false sense of security. As he unlocked the door and stepped out to set up his chalkboard that announced his “daily deals” to passersby, he was accosted by several people seemingly waiting for him to open up shop. Despite his pride in being the number one flower shop in Los Santos, it was days like this one that made him wish he could just close up shop and go back to the mind-numbing, soulsucking, but ridiculously easy Gamestop job where he’d met Jeremy. Every time he thought he would get a break, another customer or five wandered into his shop. He was incredibly thankful for the head start he’d gotten on the pre ordered custom arrangements, because he simply wouldn’t have had the time to finish them if he’d have come in any later. 

It wasn’t until the rush finally ended in the late evening and the sun had begun to descend in the distance that Matt got any respite. In the silence of his finally empty shop, he plopped down on the stool behind the cash register and rested his head on the counter. Later, he would need to restock his shelves and put in his nightly orders, but for the moment, he just relaxed. He had even nearly fallen asleep when the bell over the entrance startled him from his rest. He grumbled to himself for a short moment before sitting up and forcing a smile, calling out to the new customer he couldn’t yet see through the shelves. “Welcome to Bragg About It flowers! My name is Matt, how can I help you today?” 

Honestly, if somebody had asked him what he expected in that moment, Matt would never have answered that he expected Jeremy’s hot friend from that morning would ever step foot into his shop. He’d never met any of Jeremy’s work friends, and his best friend was often kind of dodgy about the details. Matt knew most of their first names, but that was about it. Not what they looked like or full names, or likes and dislikes… Jeremy just never talked about them and Matt knew to leave the topic alone. 

So that was why meeting Ryan had been so surprising to Matt, because until that morning, all of Jeremy’s work friends might as well have been ghosts. However, after having met Ryan, Matt had a better idea of why he’d never met Jeremy’s co-workers. If they were all as tall, and built, strong and muscular and… just plain attractive as Ryan was, it made sense that Jeremy wouldn’t want his skinny, lanky, plain and unattractive trans guy friend hanging around with them. Matt just wouldn’t fit in, just like he never really fit in anywhere. 

In the end though, Ryan was probably just another customer coming in to buy a bouquet for his sweetheart (Matt ignored the pang of hurt jealousy he felt when he remembered how Ryan had looked at Jeremy that morning, and vice versa), and Matt would treat as he did any other person who walked through those doors. With a smile and an unusual knowledge of flowers and their meanings. He stepped out from behind the counter as he called his greeting, walking up to Ryan as the blond man looked around his shop. “Hi! Ryan, right? What are you looking for this evening?” 

Ryan smiled, a blinding thing, that struck Matt dumb for a moment and drove home the idea that Jeremy would never love him as long as he had the option of this stunningly handsome man in front of him. He reached out and ran his fingers over one of the tiny succulents on the shelf in front of him, chuckling lowly at Matt. “I might have to buy a couple of these guys for my collection, I’ve always been fascinated by succulents and how hardy they are, and there are so many different varieties… But no, I actually asked Jeremy where the shop you mentioned this morning was, I wanted to apologise for waking you up and making a mess of your apartment. I didn’t do that this morning, and I felt awful.”

Good lord, this guy was perfect. He liked plants, and was so sweet, and obviously intelligent and caring, Matt didn’t stand a chance. But at least Jeremy would be happy, and that was all that really mattered to Matt in the end. If only for Jeremy’s sake, Matt would try to push the surging tidal wave of jealousy aside and be friends with Ryan. “It’s fine, man! Actually, I’m glad you two woke me up early this morning. Today’s been hell, but it would have been worse if I didn’t have time to finish all the online orders before opening time. I’ve been busy all day, in fact, this is the first time it’s slowed down since I opened. I was about to start restocking, you probably noticed how bare the shelves are looking right now. If you really wanted to make this morning up to me, you could help me move a few of my pre-made bouquets up here and restock the loose roses and tulips.”

Ryan laughed and nodded, following as Matt turned to head into the back room. “It’s the least I can do, honestly.” Together, they made quick work of the restocking, Matt making mental notes of the flowers he would need to order that night so they didn’t run out. As they worked, they chatted about anything and everything. Matt taught a surprisingly interested Ryan about the meanings of some of the flowers and bouquets, and Ryan told Matt about his apartment and all of his house plants. They talked for nearly two hours, even after finishing restocking, Ryan stayed and watched Matt close down the shop, calling in flower orders and starting in on the mornings work. He would have stayed later, but he got an unexpected phone call from Geoff, forcing him to leave. He apologized to Matt profusely as he left, jotting down his phone number and jogging out the door.

Watching his newfound friend leave, Matt had mixed emotions. Ryan had been so kind and funny, and made a good friend, but Matt couldn’t get the image of him and Jeremy out of his head. Shrugging, Matt turned back to his flowers, the only friends that he had that were never confusing, and got back to work.


End file.
